The stores are simple but clean, just a tad homier than most bigger chain fast-food burger places. / Larry Olmsted for USA TODAY

by Larry Olmsted, special for USA TODAY

by Larry Olmsted, special for USA TODAY

The scene: This rapidly growing fast-food burger chain has tapped into a surging trend, consumer desire for natural foods, and in particular, the currently red-hot demand for grass-fed beef. Typically, eating grass-fed burgers requires buying the specialty meat and cooking it yourself or going to a fancy steakhouse, but Elevation Burger is a quick and easy alternative. The chain launched in the Washington, D.C., area in 2005, and now has nearly three-dozen locations in 10 states, including Texas and California. It also has outposts in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

The main appeal is the ingredients themselves, especially the beef, which is 100% certified organic, grass-fed, free range and ground daily in each individual restaurant. Some consumers believe that this kind of beef is healthier for individuals, cows and the environment. But Elevation Burger does not stop at beef: The fries are cooked only in olive oil, the cheeseburgers topped with non-processed aged cheddar, even the bacon, veggie burger and cheesecake are organic. The stores themselves feature energy-efficient lights and appliances and are built from sustainable materials such as bamboo.

If none of this is important to you, Elevation Burger is probably not your top choice, since burgers of similar taste quality can be found at more widespread competitors for slightly less money (though prices are quite reasonable -- the standard Elevation Burger is $5.79 or about $8 as a bacon cheeseburger). Ingredients aside, Elevation resembles other fast-food franchises with strip-mall or standalone locations where you order at the counter, fill your soda from user-operated dispensers, and eat at simple tables. It is very clean and bright and has the feel of the just slightly more upscaled fast-food eateries like Moe's or Qdoba.

But there is one other reason to favor Elevation Burger among fast-food restaurants, and that is the high level of service. You order at a counter but food is delivered to you in metal trays by friendly staff who also bring napkins, clean up after you, and in a first among the dozens of restaurants where I have shot photos, even volunteered to take a picture of my wife and me. When was the last time someone at Arby's or Burger King came over and cleared your table, asked if you needed anything else, brought you a glass of water or inquired how you liked your meal? That's the fringe benefit, besides the food itself, at Elevation Burger.

Reason to visit: Grass-fed burgers, fries, shakes

The food: Like rival burger chain Five Guys, which also launched in the D.C. area, the standard Elevation Burger is actually a double with two patties, while a Kid's Burger containing just one is popular with adults as well. The patties themselves are slight, akin to McDonalds in size, so the double is not as excessive as it might sound. A third option is excessive, the Vertigo Burger, a stack of your choosing with 3-10 patties (yes, up to 10). The patties are slightly irregular and appear hand formed, and the list of toppings options is extensive, from organic bacon, mushrooms, blue-cheese dressing and 6-month-old, non-processed cheddar cheese (all extra), to lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, raw or caramelized onions, balsamic mustard, jalapeños and hot pepper relish (all included). Otherwise the only main course options are two veggie burgers (organic and regular), the "half the guilt burger" with one beef and one veggie patty, a salad and a grilled-cheese sandwich.

The burger is quite good, juicy and fresh, at the high end of the fast-food burger spectrum. It is similar to, but no tastier than, Five Guys or In-N-Out, while clearly superior to McDonald's, Burger King and their ilk. The toppings are noticeably fresh, from the crispy lettuce to the tasty pickles. Though quite good for the price and setting, the grass-fed beef itself does not have a distinctive taste as it often does when cooked in the form of steaks.

The "fresh fries," on the other hand, are excellent, skinny, hand-cut and crispy, with pronounced potato flavor, definitely a standout among fast-food places. However they are quite salty, which I like but could be a real turnoff to the more salt phobic. There is only one size, and for $2.69 it is huge, enough for two. Otherwise the only side dish options are a small salad and a cup of mandarin orange slices.

The other main offering of note at Elevation Burger are thick shakes and malts, all made with hand scooped Blue Bunny ice cream. Choose from chocolate, vanilla or coffee, with one or two unusual additions, mostly fruit, including real strawberries, mangos, and blueberries and bananas, as well as Oreo cookies and organic cheesecake. I had a chocolate shake with fresh bananas, which was nothing like the often undefinable shakes many fast-food restaurants dispense from a machine filled with mix. It was as thick as it could be while remaining drinkable with a straw, fresh and tasty, and while not as over the top delicious as the much pricier versions now popular at some gourmet sit-down burger restaurants, it is excellent for the fast-food arena.

Overall, among fast-food chains Elevation Burger easily holds its own on the burger front and excels at fries and shakes for this price point. You don't have to want to choose organic natural or grass-fed over the mass-produced commercial equivalents to eat here, but it is a good reason to seek the chain out.

Pilgrimage-worthy?: Yes, if you are among those making the choice to try and eat natural, grass-fed beef, it is hard to beat for convenience and price.

Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a BBQ contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com. Some of the venues reviewed by this column provided complimentary services.